


Righting The Wrongs

by thesoundofnat



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Awkward Dates, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Restaurants
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-12-10 16:57:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11695956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesoundofnat/pseuds/thesoundofnat
Summary: Steve spoke first. “We - or at least I - would love that, but-”“Don’t worry about the money. It’s my treat.”“But-”“I want to treat my partners. Please let me?”(Or, Tony takes Steve and Bucky out to a fancy restaurant to make up for his absence, but things don’t really go as planned.)





	Righting The Wrongs

Tony had thought this was a good idea up until the very moment he’d been about to pitch it to Steve and Bucky, and by the time his doubt washed over him it was too late to back out. Crap.

“So, uh, you know how I went to that conference last week,” he started, stumbling over his own prepared speech for just a second.

They both nodded, their faces the embodiment of polite curiosity. Tony was sure they were hiding confusion and maybe even concern at his sudden request to talk to them. To ask them something. At least that was what he would be feeling had he been in their position.

“And you know how the week before I’d flown out to L.A. for that meeting,” he continued, mentally checking off the list he’d composed. “And how I’ve been stuck in my lab until it’s been too late - or early - to even call it night anymore for several days?”

“Yes, Tony, we know,” Bucky said, and Tony could sense his slight impatience. Of course they’d noticed. You didn’t just not notice your own boyfriend’s constant absence, even if you had another one to prevent you from being lonely.

He cleared his throat. “Right. Well. I wanted to make it up to you.”

Raised eyebrows. Straighter backs. Polite curiosity turned just curiosity.

Tony knew why they were acting so surprised. He did a lot of things for them. Built them stuff he thought they would need. Bought them things he thought they would like. But he never explained why he did it. He didn’t say he did it because they meant so goddamn much to him. He didn’t say he did it because he didn’t want his busy schedule to be interpreted as him not caring about them. He didn’t say he did it because he was terrified he would lose them.

He just did it. Except now he was explaining why, and it was unusual and surprising, but they seemed to like having heard him say it.

So he said it again.

“I want to make it up to you by taking you out to dinner. To my favorite restaurant, as far as fancy restaurants go. How does that sound?”

He knew he could take them literally anywhere and they would be grateful. They’d never been the fancy restaurants type of people, but Tony wanted to show them that he wanted them to be a part of his life and his world, and it would feel like lying to pretend that he hadn’t been to expensive restaurants more times than he could count, not always voluntarily, but still. It wouldn’t be his world. Only part of it.

And he wanted them to be a part of all of his world.

Steve spoke first. “We - or at least I - would love that, but-”

“Don’t worry about the money. It’s my treat.”

“But-”

“I want to treat my partners. Please let me?”

Steve’s mouth snapped shut at that, and he exchanged a glance with Bucky. Tony would never admit this out loud, but he’d always been jealous of the way they could communicate without saying a word. He didn’t really have that with them, and yet they let him be a part of this anyway. He was grateful for that.

“Okay,” Steve said, only a couple of seconds later. “Okay, we’re in.”

Tony couldn’t help but grin. “Yay. Wear your best suits - I know you have at least one each - and I’ll have the car pick us up at six.”

“Wait, you don’t mean-”

“I forgot to say. We’re going today. In an hour.”

“In an _hour_?”

“I got nervous about asking you, okay?” Tony said, practically running out of the room, because there was something about admitting he’d been nervous that made him unable to stand still, so he might as well flee. He didn’t want them to see just how much this mattered, and he was sure his face would betray him.

Okay, so maybe he still couldn’t entirely believe they wanted to be with him, and he was absolutely terrified of letting them see certain parts of him. Of letting him see how much he wanted this. Maybe. Definitely.

Crap.

* * *

 

To their credit they were outside, fully dressed, while Tony was still struggling with his tie. All these years and these things were  _still_ impossible to put on when you were in a hurry. He was still fiddling with it when he walked outside, paused to smile at them, and then finally -  _finally_ \- tightened it around his neck. “Phew. That was intense.”

“You look good.” That had been Steve. Clad in a dark blue suit that made his eyes twinkle, the cologne Tony had gifted him before they’d even started dating all but forming a protective shield around him and the world, so that all that you could think when you were close to him was  _Calvin Klein_. He was smiling.

Tony swallowed. “So do you. And you,” he added, turning to Bucky in his classic black suit that made him look like an old movie star. He was smelling suspiciously similar to Steve, and Tony suddenly realized that he’d never given him any fragrances of some sort, and therefore he probably didn’t own any. That needed to be rectified, stat.

“I like your suit,” Bucky said in reply. He looked a little less comfortable than Steve did, who, to be fair, had been forced to wear a suit several times before Bucky had even shown up in his life again. “Gray suits you.”

“Ha ha, suit.”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Dork.”

So maybe things were a little tense during the ride there, but Tony was sure it was just because his boyfriends didn’t know what to expect. The atmosphere would stop feeling so thick soon, and Tony’s heart would stop hammering so hard against his chest, and Steve and Bucky would stop looking like they’d rather be anywhere else but here.

Happy looked way too, well, happy when he opened their doors for them, despite their protests. He kept giving Tony meaningful looks that weren’t as subtle as he probably thought, and Tony shot him a tight lipped smile back.

“You got this, boss,” he told him, thankfully so quietly that it was barely audible for Tony, who was standing right next to him.

Tony exhaled slowly. “I hope.”

He’d booked a table in the far back of the restaurant, as he was sure neither of them wanted everyone’s eyes on them. This way people would have to strain themselves to watch them, and it just wasn’t worth the slight humiliation those action would result in, as everyone would be able to tell what they were doing. Socialites were nosy, but they were very aware of their reputation, and usually put that first. Tony was, for once, grateful for that.

The table was round, so that they could all see each other when they sat. Tony tried to ignore how less than thrilled they looked, and how they tried to rearrange their features when they caught him noticing. It would get better. They would relax soon. Tony just needed to give them time.

He opened the menu and wondered just how much time was enough before he should start getting worried.

“I love their salmon,” he heard himself saying, even though he hadn’t had salmon here in over ten years. “But I guess that’s a taste thing.”

“Salmon sounds good,” Steve was quick to say. “I’m not really a fish guy, though.”

They all disappeared behind their menus, and Tony wished he could fast forward until they were all laughing again. Until they were at ease and this dinner was a mere memory.

Because he was starting to think that maybe this was a mistake.

He glanced at them over his menu, but they were properly out of sight, and so he just kept staring, desperately trying to figure out what he’d done wrong. Why he constantly did something wrong, even when he was trying to make everything right.

“Maybe a burger,” Bucky suddenly said, appearing, their eyes meeting. Tony could tell he’d seen something in his face, and panic similar to Tony’s swept across his own before he managed to straighten his expression out. “Doesn’t that sound good, Steve?” he added, as if begging Steve to come out here and help him. As if Tony was too difficult to deal with on his own.

Steve put his menu down. “With some fries,” he said, only oblivious of everything going on around him for a second, but the man wasn’t blind. “And maybe a salad.”

“We could-” Tony started, wincing at how small his voice sounded. How pathetic. He cleared his throat. Tried again. “We could go somewhere else? I mean, a burger and fries can be found literally anywhere.”

“But you went through all this trouble to book us a table.”

“So what? I’ll just leave a big tip and they won’t even care that we left.” He was aware of how desperate he sounded. “Just, wherever. Wherever you wanna go, we can go.”

“Tony-”

“No, please. This… this is obviously not working. I know I messed up. Let’s go somewhere else.”

_Somewhere nicer._

“You didn’t mess up,” Steve insisted. “We just-”

“This isn’t our scene, Tony.”

Bucky’s voice had been so soft when he said it, and suddenly Tony understood. He swallowed thickly. “Sorry. I was being selfish again.”

“You weren’t-”

“I wasn’t thinking of what you would want. I’m sorry.”

“No, please don’t apologize. We should’ve told you from the get go, but-” Steve paused, a small, barely existent smile finding his lips. “You looked so happy to be taking us out. We figured we could ride it out.”

“But we obviously couldn’t,” Bucky replied, and Tony thought he almost sounded bitter. “Which is selfish on  _our_ part, to be honest. Sorry about that.”

Steve was nodding. “We should be trying harder.”

Oh, they were all a goddamn mess, and Tony couldn’t help but feel as if they complimented each other wonderfully.

“Let’s stay,” Steve was saying, but Tony interrupted him. “No, please. Let’s go somewhere else. A diner. Anywhere. I can be comfortable wherever, but I don’t want you to suffer through this place.”

So he left a big tip for their trouble and they left, deciding against calling Happy back already and started walking over the wet concrete, their hearts becoming lighter, their heads giddier. Tony had been so stupid to think a fancy restaurant was the answer to everything, but Steve and Bucky just shushed him when he voiced it aloud.

“You did what you grew up seeing,” Steve told him, grabbing his right hand while Bucky took his left. “No need to beat yourself up for falling in love with two people who can’t appreciate it.”

He barked out a laugh. “I sure know how to pick them.” He gave their hands a squeeze. “At least I’ve done something right.”

Sap.

It started raining again, so they entered the first diner they could find. It was small and almost entirely empty, and Tony was sure no one would bother them. They picked a booth, ordered burgers and fries from the young waitress with the bright blue hair - “Would that look good on me?” “No, Buck.” - and settled into a comfortableness that they hadn’t been able to find at the restaurant. Tony found himself smiling at them both, almost so much that it got creepy.

“What?” Steve asked, his grin matching Tony’s.

He shrugged. “I’m just happy you gave me another chance to make it right.”

“Yeah, about that,” Bucky suddenly said, giving Tony a brief heart attack before adding, “You really don’t have to apologize for being busy. We both know what your work entails. And besides, we’re busy too. We don’t just sit at home waiting, you know. You don’t have to feel bad for working.”

Tony toyed with the salt shaker that had somehow ended up in his hands. “Yeah, well, I still feel bad. At least I can try to cut down on the all nighters in the lab.”

“Creative minds don’t choose when to be creative,” Steve reminded him. “If you’re in the zone please don’t stop just to come to us. I mean, sometimes would be nice, but at least not always.”

They still had things to work on, evidently, but they were trying, and that was all that mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://thesoundofnat.tumblr.com/)


End file.
